Indie dream pop duo from San Francisco, CA, now transplanted to beautiful Seattle, WA & making the most of the music scene! Follow our news, pictures, latest happenings on new releases and shows! Find our entire catalog on Bandcamp: http://sentineldream.bandcamp.com/

Jan 23, 2013

HEAR THIS: Sentinel

For fans of Captured Tracks, Northern California’s Sentinel are a trio composed of bassist/vocalist Tarabud, guitarist Dennis Bestafka, and drummer Billy Mowery. Creating a beautiful and effervescent take on dream pop inspired by the legendary forebears of U2, My Bloody Valentine, and The Smiths, this band, active since 2000, have numerous albums and singles to their credit. Utilizing a lovestruck New Romantic aesthetic that hasn’t been in vogue since the glory days of MTV combined with the icily beautiful songwriting and vocals of its lead singer, it’s a treat for those who think 120 Minutes isn’t enough.

Based out of Oakland, they’ve been busy playing shows in their native Bay Area lately. Since their first self-released album in 2004, they’ve released a consistent stream of albums and singles. Their latest, last year’s Somewhere Else, is a shimmering delight that demonstrates it’s not just pensive mood music; they have a knack for synthesis, as evidenced by the New Order-ish synths and danceable beats. Make a spot for Sentinel on your next playlist (or more appropriately, mixtape…the kind you have to rewind,preferably in between an Echo and the Bunnymen B-side and a Beach Fossils track).

Jan 18, 2013

Jan 10, 2013

Hello Fans! This is a fun chance to see what becomes of our Grammy's opportunity! All you need to do is click on the link below to see how far we have amplified our sound! Might even get a chance to play at the Grammy's February 10, 2013, if we get enough hits/VOTES!

Biography

Sentinel the band began in the late 1990's as a musical side project on a four track recorder between Dennis Bestafka and Tarabud. The seeds for this sunny-seaside-dream-pop duo were planted living in Southern California. Tarabud contributed the essence of her Colombian vocal roots learned in singing cumbias; while Dennis contributed his multi-instrumentalist skills and studio training established in Los Angeles, California. With the help of David Johnson on bass guitar, and Brian Miller on drums, the 4 piece played their first show at Que Sera, Sera club, in Long Beach, California. In 2000, after only a short time of contributing to the band and playing lives shows, Dennis acted upon a long time personal ambition and enlisted in the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry, seeing it through the War in Iraq. Tarabud relocated to the Bay Area for graduate school. Throughout this time, living on opposite coasts, Dennis and Tarabud wrote music for Sentinel through the mail, by Internet, and on occasion meeting to lay down new tracks in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he was stationed. It was an inspirational time even as the nation geared up for a war overseas. Much of this work can be experienced on The Singles album finally released in 2005, a deeply emotionally haunting compilation. All songs produced on a four track recorder were mixed and mastered on Cubase by Dennis in his home studio. Spring of 2004, Dennis returned to San Francisco to rekindle the Sentinel project with Tarabud to a new level, finding musicians to play for live shows, while Tarabud began playing the bass guitar for the band. Very quickly after, they completed a full length album self-titled~ Sentinel (2004), recorded in the home studio and produced by Dennis. This record was officially released on the start-up website that began helping unsigned musicians with distribution ~ CDBaby.com. Also, social media Internet sites like Myspace.com helped spread the word about their music to a worldwide audience.

Sentinel played their first show in the Bay Area, at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in Spring of 2005, and continued writing albums and self-releasing their music and video creations.Strongly influenced by their mutual visions of 80's synth and 90's dream pop: Cocteau Twins, Smiths, U2, My Bloody Valentine, Cure, Flock Of Seagulls, Ocean Blue, creating a long catalog of moods and textures while developing their sound. As the main writers and composers of the band they were very prolific in the following years: Sequels & Hunches, E.P. (2007), Kites Without Strings (2008), For Days Deep (2010), Jet Black Single (2010), Dark End Single (2011), Somewhere Else Single (2012), Extended Dance Remix ~ Somewhere Else (2012). They also released 4 reinterpreting Christmas classics, and made several videos found on Youtube.com. The band was fortunate to have songs played on college radio stations, FM radio stations Live 105 & 10.7 The Bone, and on Internet radio stations like SomaFM & Insomnia Radio.

Currently in 2013, Bill Mowery has been the longest musical member, contributing his expertise in the rhythm section, playing drums on several of the above recordings, and overall completing the trio for their live performances. . Social media giants like Twitter and Facebook pages allow Sentinel to share their shows, new releases, and gossip. All official releases can be found on Bandcamp page. Sentinel today continues to play live in the Bay Area, possible
West Coast tour to promote their new full length Points of Light, summer, 2015.